Slayer Pryde
by Ronin Elf
Summary: Kitty goes off to college...
1. Prologue

Slayer Pryde  
  
A Buffy the Vampire Slayer/ X-men universe cross-over (focusing on Kitty Pryde)  
  
Disclaimer: We, the authors, do solemnly swear that we do not own any of these characters. We are simply borrowing them and promise to play with them nicely and put them back when done. As for money, we have none, are making none from this, and do kindly ask that you not sue us. Thank you.  
  
Notes: My roommate and I started this story a few years ago. I decided to post it to see what people thought of it. Feel free to leave honest opinions (good and bad) as well as any praise or criticism. Marvel ignores continuity when they want and so do we. This will also be an AU for Buffy breaking at some point in season five, before Glory, before Tara and Willow became an item, but after Spike got chippy.  
  
Now, on with the fic. -  
  
Prologue  
  
The vampire crouched behind the tree and waited. Its prey was in sight, all it had to do was sit back and wait. It chortled at its good fortune. The girl, its prey, was foolish enough to be walking alone. She was such an easy target. Most people on the U.C. Sunnydale campus knew enough to employ the buddy system after dark. The girl was either fearless, stupid, or new to the area. Possibly all three, ultimately the vampire didn't care. All she was now, was lunch. The vampire leapt at her from the shadows.  
Buffy wheeled around easily slaying the vampire. "Just can't resist an easy target." She sighed. "Sorry, I'm not on the menu tonight."  
Poof.  
The vampire was dust.  
  
XXXXX  
  
The X-men breathed a collective sigh of relief as they walked into the mansion.  
"Ah nevah thought we'd be finished with those Crimsin Pirates." Rouge sighed.  
"Or the Neo!" Bobby chimed in.  
"Or the rest of those idiots." Jean added in exasperation. The rest of the team wisely let the subject drop there. It was better not to annoy Jean.  
"By the by, what happened to Katzchen?" Kurt asked bewildered.  
The blank look on everyone's face prompted Logan to respond. "You mean, no one knows."  
Peter gulped; not quite sure that even in his armored form he would be able to withstand Wolverines' claws. It was Rouge (with her invulnerability) who found the courage to speak up.  
"Well, uh, y'see sugah, we don't but."  
"You mean you LOST HER?!" Wolverine demanded, popping his claws.  
"Lost who?" Kitty asked as she walked through the door (literally) and headed for the fridge.  
"Katya! You were able to escape the station before it blew up!" Peter blurted out.  
"Let me get this strait." Wolverine said through clenched teeth, "You left her. on a space station. that you knew was about to BLOW UP?!"  
Kitty turned from the fridge, orange juice in hand. Reaching for a glass she spoke casually, "Yeah, I told them to."  
Wolverine sheathed his claws.  
"After all, if they had stayed my plan wouldn't have worked. Oh, by the way, I just stopped by to get my things. I'm going to college." With that Kitty exited the same way she had entered, leaving a stunned silence in her wake.  
  
"Are you sure about this?" Jean asked at the airport as Kitty handed her the last of the information she had for where she would be staying.  
"Yeah, I wanted to when I came back to the States."  
"But California is so far." Ororo cautioned.  
"No offense Ororo, but that's kinda the point. Besides I've spent the last few years on the other side of the ocean." Kitty shrugged.  
Ororo nodded. "Our doors are always open. Don't hesitate to call."  
"I'll keep in touch." Kitty promised, hugging her friend.  
  
XXXXX  
  
Buffy stared at the room assignment in horror. "I don't believe this!" She wailed, "I know the form was a couple of days late for a single room, but I was saving the world!"  
"Again." Willow piped up.  
"That's right! I mean, if I had stopped my saving the world activities to fill out and turn in a stupid form, we wouldn't need dorms!" Buffy paused, glancing at the paper before she tossed it in Willows general direction. "And Miss Katherine Pryde, who ever she is, would have to find a new school. Isn't Kathy short for Katherine? This had better not be another demon roommate."  
Willow picked up the paper. "Hey! I know a girl named Pryde!"  
"Willow, please tell me your kidding." Buffy groaned.  
"No." Willow responded innocently as she studied the assignment. "Oh. but this can't be her." Willows voice fell, "She lives in Illinois, not New York. Weird, I wonder how many Katherine Pryde's there are in the world. Anyway I should get going." She gave Buffy a conspiratorial glance, "I hear someone in the driveway." 


	2. Chapter 1

Slayer Pryde  
  
Disclaimer: I still don't own them. I make no money. I have no money.  
  
Notes: Hope you like. Updates will be farther apart from now on. I need to dig out the original notes that I have for this story. As always reviews/feedback always welcome and greatly appreciated.  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Kitty finished tucking the last of her clothes in her closet. Her roommate hadn't arrived yet. Kitty wasn't sure about having a roommate; her roommates seemed to have bad luck. Besides that the name Summers was just asking for trouble.  
  
A pile of boxes strolled through the door.  
  
"All right, two steps to the left, go forward, stop. Okay, drop 'em." Directed the redhead following the pile.  
  
XXXXX  
  
Buffy dropped the pile of boxes on the bed with a sigh of relief.  
  
"Hi." Came a hesitant voice from the other side of the room.  
  
Willow stared open-mouthed at the brunette standing next to a half- assembled, expensive-looking, state-of-the-art computer system.  
  
"Kitty?"  
  
The brunette turned with an equally shocked expression, "Oh my gosh! Willow!?"  
  
Buffy looked from one to the other in thorough confusion. "You two know each other?"  
  
Willow grinned. "This is the girl I told you about!" She turned to Kitty, "When did you move to New York, I thought your mom still lived in Illinois?"  
  
"She does." Kitty smiled, "Long story."  
  
Buffy sighed. "Figures."  
  
XXXXX  
  
Kitty's first class was psychology. She would have preferred a physics class, but unfortunately she had registered late and all the first level classes had been full. That had proven to be a continuing point of frustration. She was advanced enough a student, but she hadn't had time to meet with the professors to talk about testing out of the beginner courses. In anything. Which really sucked. Kitty attempted to stifle a yawn as the teacher strolled in.  
  
"My name is Riley Finn. Welcome to Psychology 101." This guy made Scott look like a wild-man (then again, Cyclops did have the crazy red shades.) "In this class we will be covering theories regarding human behavior and why we do the things we do." He handed a stack of papers to one of the students in the front row and continued. "I will be your teaching assistant for this semester. Your professor, Dr. Denton had a small emergency he had to take care of and will not be able to make it to this session of the class. He sends his deepest apologies and wants you to know that once you get the syllabus you are free to go."  
  
Kitty could almost hear the militaristic 'that will be all' that usually followed after a briefing. She hung back to avoid the feeding frenzy of students that rushed forward to grab a copy of the syllabus eager to depart the lecture hall early. Actually, from this distance, the mass of students trying to beat each other out in the race for a piece of paper that would only cause them misery later was amusing. Kitty glanced up and noticed the same faint smile tugging on her lips forming on the TA's face as well.  
  
As the crowds cleared Kitty approached the front. She was the last student to receive a copy, handed to her by the now incredibly frazzled looking student Riley had handed the stack to when he came in.  
  
"You avoided the rush." Riley said to her, grinning with amusement as took the extra copies from his unwitting decoy. "That's not playing fair."  
  
The frazzled undergrad, having relieved himself of the extra syllabi grabbed his bag and departed before he could be duped into anything else today. Kitty laughed easily. "I see you managed to avoid the rush too." She indicated the fleeing dupe, "That was hardly fair."  
  
"It was a lesson he needed to learn." Riley responded with mock solemnity.  
  
"I don't think he'll need to be told twice." Kitty replied in the same tone. She had unconsciously fallen into step with Riley as they left the room.  
  
"So." Riley paused waiting for her name.  
  
"Kitty." She supplied promptly.  
  
"Are you new to Sunnydale?"  
  
"Yep. First semester." Kitty nodded, "I'm a, ah. transfer student."  
  
Riley raised an eyebrow at her vocal stumble but didn't press her on it. They had reached an intersection in the hallway and Kitty paused to look at her schedule. "My next class is in Owen." Kitty sighed, "I may as well get going, this campus is a little bigger than I'm used to. Last thing I need is to be wandering lost and late on the first day."  
  
"Owen is on the other side of campus, near the library." Riley said indicating the direction with his free hand. "Just be careful wandering lost and late after dark. Campus security isn't what it used to be."  
  
Kitty raised an eyebrow at that, but let it pass. She waved goodbye to Riley as he headed down the other hall. Now it was on to her second class of the day, End-User Computing. Kitty vainly tried to stifle another yawn.  
  
XXXXX  
  
Willow and Buffy sat in the cafeteria trying to make the best of lunch. Buffy had finally found a class worth attending and was busy filling Willow in on the details.  
  
"So the entire point of the class is to watch old monster movies and write an interpretive essay on them." Buffy said between nacho bites.  
  
"Hello girls." Xander greeted them brightly as he sat across from Willow at the round table. He was closely followed by Riley who sat next to Buffy.  
  
"Hey Xander," Willow greeted him. "Did you finally enroll in classes?"  
  
"No." Xander answered as he prepared to stuff his mouth full of food.  
  
"Then how did you score the munchables?" Buffy asked with a frown. "I thought it was a student only thing."  
  
"Not so loud." Xander grinned and leaned over to whisper conspiratorially, "I told them I lost my I.D. and Riley vouched for me. The food here is cheaper than on the outside."  
  
"And it shows." Willow agreed eyeing some rather unidentifiable things on Xander's plate. "Ohh, hey it's Kitty!" Willow immediately began waving the new girl over.  
  
Riley, Buffy and Xander all turned to look in the direction of Willow's frantic gesturing.  
  
"You know her?" Riley questioned.  
  
"Hmm," Buffy nodded slightly. "New roommate. And you?" Buffy countered, "I detect the telltale hint of recognition in your voice."  
  
"She's in Dr. Denton's morning class." Riley answered as Kitty approached the table.  
  
Kitty set her try down by at an empty seat. She eyed the assembled party at the table with amusement. "Wow, I think this is an assembly of just about everybody in Sunnydale that I know." She paused as she sank into her seat "Please tell me this is just some sort of weird coincidence."  
  
"Very weird." Xander affirmed.  
  
"Okay, I don't know him." Kitty said pointing at Xander.  
  
"Kitty, this is Xander." Willow smiled.  
  
"Ah, I think I remember you mentioning something about him." Kitty sat back and smiled. "So do you guys always hang out like this, ala Three Musketeers?"  
  
"Yeah, but it's more like 'Scooby Doo'." Willow giggled at Kitty's confused look. "I'm sure you can figure it out."  
  
"Let me guess." Kitty began tentatively, "He's Fred, she's Daphne, your Velma, and he's Shaggy." She said pointing first at Riley, then Buffy, Willow and Xander in turn. "That just leaves us short one dog."  
  
"Well as a friend of Willow's the position is open if you want it." Xander quipped.  
  
"I think I'll pass for now." Kitty smiled, leaning back in her chair. "So what is there to do around this place for fun?" 


	3. Chapter 2

Slayer Pryde  
  
Disclaimer: The characters do not belong to me. This is a work of fanfiction.  
  
Notes: Thank you to all who have reviewed. Thanks to raven rae lusion for the Scooby correction. There is also some apparent confusion about where this falls in Buffy continuity. When work on this story began it was the summer between seasons four and five of Buffy. Originally it was intended to break with Buffy continuity sometime early season five. That still holds pretty true. There are however a couple of things that I never liked, and thus generally don't acknowledge in the world of Buffy. Primarily the whole Willow/Tara thing, and therefore for the purpose of this fic Will and Tara are not an item. Tara and Dawn will probably still be around but not for a couple of chapters. I hope that this clarifies things. If not please let me know.  
  
Buffy cringed at the loud creaking sound the door made as she slowly opened it. It was well after two in the morning and Buffy thanked her lucky stars that Kitty did not seem to be a light sleeper. After stowing her stake in the weapons trunk under the bed she pulled on a nightshirt and collapsed on the bed. Two weeks into the semester and she was already exhausted. She hadn't realized how much the Initiative had contributed to keeping the vampire population down. Patrols were really taking a lot out of her this year.  
  
XXX  
  
The rustling woke her up, again. Kitty cracked one eye open to look at the display on her alarm clock. It read the standard Buffy-return time, well after two, just about three. Kitty had really hoped that Buffy would settle down as the semester wore on, but her roommate habitually hung out late every night. Kitty was vaguely curious as to where she went, but it really wasn't any of her concern.  
  
It wasn't that she was particularly loud when she returned. Actually if it wasn't for Kitty's years of training she wouldn't have even noticed. Buffy was taking pains to be quiet. Kitty closed her eye and willed herself back to sleep. She had a class that started far too early in the morning and she didn't want to fall asleep in the middle of it.  
  
Ten minutes later sleep was a fond dream. Glass from the window located between the head of the two beds's shattered and showered inward. Instinct took over and Kitty phased as she rolled of the other side of her bed, using it for cover. There was a distinctive thud as something entered the room through the now very open window. Kitty had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that her X-days were not as far behind her as she would like to think. Her stomach settled somewhere near the sub-basement as she peeked out from behind the bed and saw just what had made such a loud, unwelcome entrance to her room.  
  
It was a N'Gari.  
  
Kitty felt her stomach lurch back up as she saw it towering over her roommate. Buffy had rolled into the isle between their beds and was now crouched down in front of the demon. Kitty felt her muscles tense as she prepared to leap to Buffy's defense, knowing that it was already too late. The N'Gari raised one clawed hand, Buffy moved in closer. There was a flash of something silver in the dim light as Buffy swung at the demon.  
  
The fight was short and one sided. In less than thirty seconds the N'Gari lay dead at Buffy's feet. Kitty stared at the scene. Buffy stood over the body of the demon with a small double-sided battle-axe. The adrenaline began to wear off leaving Kitty's brain confused.  
  
"This is a very bad, very strange dream." Kitty muttered crawling back into her bed. "I am going to go to bed and when I wake up it will all be better." This last part was said with slightly more conviction.  
  
Kitty awoke to the uncomfortable realization that her alarm had not gone off. She slowly opened her eyes and made another disturbing discovery.  
  
The window was indeed broken. The N'Gari was gone, but the window was indeed broken. Shards of glass sparkled in the morning light.  
  
"Watch your step." Buffy called from the closet. "The frat boys really did a number on our window last night."  
  
"Frat boys?" Kitty questioned. She remembered a little more than rowdy college boys invading their room last night.  
  
"Yep." Buffy nodded solemnly. Kitty had to give her credit. If she hadn't seen the N'Gari with her own eyes she would have bought Buffy's story. She spoke with such conviction Kitty wondered how often the girl had to lie.  
  
Kitty also wondered how she had been able to take down a full-grown N'Gari. One thing was for certain, there was more here than meets the eye. Kitty resolved at that moment to find out what.  
  
"You must really sleep like the dead." Buffy said lightly.  
  
"Yeah." Kitty yawned in agreement. "Right though my alarm." Kitty made sure to step out of bed on the side opposite the broken glass. "I better book it and see if I can get my political science teacher to forgive me."  
  
XXX  
  
Buffy sighed as she opened the door to the Magic Box, AKA 'Scooby Central'. She had spent a good hour cleaning up the mess the as-yet- unidentified demon had made with its totally unauthorized entry into her room last night. Fortunately Kitty had seemed to swallow her 'frat party' story and remained none the wiser. It was amazing what people could ignore if they put their mind to it.  
  
Giles frowned as Buffy described what had happened last night. His frown deepened when Buffy mentioned that her roommate had been in at the time. He took his glasses off and began to clean them.  
"Oh dear." He sighed when Buffy finished. "Are you sure that she suspects nothing?"  
  
"Pretty sure." Buffy nodded. "She seemed to buy the whole 'frat party' story."  
  
"That sounds like Kitty." Willow added. "At least the Kitty I remember." She clarified, as she looked through her Encyclopedia Demonica (volume N-P), "She was pretty much the not-notice type unless it had to do with computers or dance Eww, yegh. I think I found it."  
  
Both Buffy and Xander leaned over Willows shoulder to look at the entry she had indicated. "Yep." Buffy chirped when she saw the picture.  
  
"That really redefines the meaning of the world 'ugly'." Xander remarked casually. Willow passed the book over to Giles who immediately began to read through the entry.  
  
"N'Gari." Giles read quietly. "That is very odd."  
  
"What is?" Buffy asked, "The name - 'cause I have to agree with you there."  
  
"No," Giles flipped to the next page of the entry. "These demons usually prefer a cooler climate. The last known siting was on the East Coast. Why would they come here?"  
  
"Hello, Giles, Hellmouth." Buffy scolded playfully. "It is a demon magnet."  
  
"There has to be something here that they're after though." Giles persisted.  
  
"Maybe I just got lucky and they're after my roommate." Buffy shrugged.  
  
"Not unless they need help understanding windows." Xander cracked. Willow gave him a sour look.  
  
"Point is that they're here." Buffy said in her business voice. "I just need to know how to get rid of them."  
  
XXX  
  
Kitty spent the rest of her day scouting around Sunnydale for possible N'Gari hideouts. She had briefly considered calling Xavier's, but had dismissed the idea. She had been in California for just over a month. Somehow she felt that calling the X-Men now would defeat the purpose of moving out to California. She wanted to tackle this problem on her own. She had handled the N'Gari on her own before, she could do it again.  
  
Besides, Kitty wasn't entirely sure it was her that they were after. Her first impulse had been that she had brought a whole load of trouble to Sunnydale with her. But upon further examination two prominent facts had not fit with that theory. First, Kitty could find no suitable reason for the N'Gari to come after her now. Second, her roommate had disposed of the N'Gari in something like thirty seconds flat. Whatever she may appear to be, Buffy Summers was not helpless. Buffy also hadn't blinked twice at the demon.  
  
Kitty was still thinking about all of this when the N'Gari leapt from the bushes near the sidewalk. Instinct and years of training saved Kitty as she phased and the demon fell through her. Instantly she was in motion. Kitty landed a solid kick, unbalancing the demon. An instant later she struck again, this time with the wakizashi she had hidden on her person. Shortly after that it was over.  
  
Kitty stared down at the body of the N'Gari. "Well, that answers that question at least." They were definitely after her. Kitty took a quick look around before she phased the body underground.  
  
XXX  
  
Logan wandered over to the message center in the kitchen for what had to have been the fifth time that day. "No word from Kitty yet?" He asked Rouge.  
  
Rouge looked up from her sandwich and regarded Wolverine with a knowing half grin. "None yet, shugah."  
  
Wolverine grumbled something that Rouge couldn't quite hear and wandered back out of the kitchen. Her grin formed into a full smile as she heard him call back that he would be gone for a while. "Tell Kitty ah said 'hi'." She called back. 


	4. Chapter 3

Slayer Pryde  
  
Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer still applies. The characters are not mine and I make no profit. All characters still belong to their respective owners. Please do not sue.  
  
Notes: Sorry this took so long! Honestly, I swear I didn't die or drop of the face of the planet or something. I just went back to school. Here is the next chapter - I'm starting to get into stuff that I don't really have prewritten. That means that between the actual creation process and school updates will be less frequent. On the upside - it looks like I will be graduating in April! My college odyssey will soon be over!  
  
XXX  
  
Kitty leaned back in her chair as she stared at the computer monitor in frustration. When she had crashed down from space and landed practically at U.C. Sunnydale's doorstep the college had seemed like the perfect fit. She hadn't bothered to look into the surrounding town that much. All she had really looked into were the college programs.  
  
Sunnydale was in a word, weird. There was a large number of missing persons, and an even larger number of deaths reported annually. Kitty had originally attributed the large quantity of graveyards found all over as a side effect of the town being so old. Now, after looking into the history of the town a bit, she realized that a disproportionate part of the population died unnatural deaths.  
  
For the most part, the people of Sunnydale seemed oblivious to the body count that piled up around them. People had hardly even blinked when the high school had been destroyed a couple of years ago. Kitty was no expert but she found the official line of 'gas main explosion' to be highly suspicious.  
  
Kitty shut down the computer and gave the phone a good hard stare. The calm and logical side of her brain told her that it was time to call the mansion. Her stubborn streak was still screaming that she could handle this. Her thoughts were interrupted when the door opened and both Buffy and Willow came in.  
  
"You look less than happy." Willow noticed."  
  
"Homework." Kitty replied with a shrug. "Thankfully done now."  
  
"Wow." Buffy raised an eyebrow, "I thought your classes were all cake."  
  
"They are," Kitty stood and began to tidy up her computer desk. "Some teachers manage to stick anybody with homework."  
  
"Are you done?" Willow asked.  
  
"Yep." Kitty finished organizing her desk and turned to step over a pile of clothes between her and her closet.  
  
"Good!" Willow exclaimed brightly. "That means that you can come with us."  
  
Kitty nearly tripped over the pile as she turned to face Willow, eyebrows raised. "Go where?"  
  
"Party." Willow stated simply. "Brought to you by the same people who brought you the 'semester start party', the 'pre-mid-term's party' and the ever popular 'day that ends with Y party'."  
  
"They also are known for their 'mid-term party', 'pre-finals' and their 'finals party'." Buffy informed her as she dug through her closet. "Hah! Found it!" She held a stylish white halter top with brown trim up in triumph. "There will be much dancing tonight."  
  
"So you're coming, right?" Willow looked at Kitty hopefully.  
  
"Let me change." Kitty smiled and immediately went to her closet to find appropriate party clothes.  
  
XXX  
  
Conversation on the way to the house near campus where the party was being held was interesting. If Willow didn't know better she would say that Kitty was hiding something, or that she didn't trust her or Buffy, or both. Buffy wasn't helping. She was walking a few paces ahead of them, scouting for vamps.  
  
It didn't help that Willow couldn't be entirely forthcoming about her life either. She really couldn't tell her about the vampire slaying. Since the N'Gari attack, research had occupied so much of her time there really wasn't a whole lot else to talk about. It was really a relief when they reached the party.  
  
Buffy and Kitty both made right for the dance floor. Willow smiled. Buffy may not have wanted a roommate, but this was turning out pretty good. At the very least Kitty was not a demon. Willow had known her long enough, she could pretty much guarantee that Kitty was nothing more than human.  
  
Willow decided to hit the refreshments before the dance floor. One whiff of the punch told her that it was most assuredly spiked. She opted for a canned soda. Willow had a feeling the walk home might not be as uneventful as the walk to the party. No sooner had she popped the tab on the can than there was a large crash heralding the sound of the worst kind of uninvited guest.  
  
XXX  
  
Buffy barely had time to register the sound of glass shattering before the first of the N'Gari were through the now open window. The crowd on the dance floor turned into a panicked mob in their dash for the exits. Buffy fought just to hold her ground. As the crowd thinned she searched the room for the demons. She saw one just in time to witness her roommate being smashed by it.  
  
Buffy moved to intercept and hopefully save her roommate from suffering any permanent damage. She made it all of two feet before she was cut off by another N'Gari.  
  
"I so don't have time for this." Buffy grumbled as she blocked a slash of the demons claws.  
  
The N'Gari responded by swiping at her with its other clawed hand. Buffy tried to dodge, but the demon scored a glancing blow across her abdomen. Buffy glanced down noting the shallow cuts and shredded clothes. "That was new!"  
  
Buffy redoubled her efforts against the demon, tying to remember what Giles had said its weak points were. The N'Gari fell back and Buffy pressed the advantage. The N'Gari was down soon after that.  
  
Buffy looked over to where she had seen her roommate standing when the demons had attacked, mentally trying to think o something comforting to say to Willow. She felt her jaw hit floor when she saw Kitty standing there, no demon in sight.  
  
XXX  
  
"We should get that out of here." Kitty said, indicating the body of the N'Gari Buffy had slain. After watching Buffy put on a display of martial arts that even Wolverine could be proud of, against a demon no less, Kitty had determined that she wasn't the only one with a secret.  
  
Therefore, with no further preamble Kitty latched onto the dead N'Gari's arm and sank them both down into the dirt underneath the house. Kitty could feel both Buffy and Willows eyes on her as she phased her way back through the floor.  
  
"I guess I owe you an explanation." Kitty said calmly.  
  
"Yeah." Buffy crossed her arms across her chest, resting her weight back on one heel. "I'm pretty sure you do."  
  
"Because I know you owe me an explanation." Kitty continued.  
  
Buffy seemed to be considering this when Willow, forgotten it the sudden melee, babbled up. "Oh my god! Buffy, she's dead! I mean the N'Gari fell on her and then she wasn't there and then the demon wasn't there and then she did it again and she went through the floor and she's dead."  
  
"Apparently you get to go first." Buffy said dryly.  
  
"Willow, I'm not dead." Kitty turned to face her. "I'm a mutant." Willow opened her mouth for another babble but Buffy beat her to the vocal cords.  
  
"A what-ent?"  
  
"A mutant." Kitty explained calmly. "Mutants are just people who have developed some. special abilities. In my case I can pass the molecules of my body through other matter. It's called phasing."  
  
The techno-babble was lost on Buffy but Willow seemed to latch onto it like a beacon. "You mean you can render yourself intangible?" She asked in a tone that might have been used to inquire about the weather.  
  
"In a nutshell." Kitty replied easily. "Your turn. You don't seem too weirded out by any of this."  
  
"Yeah well," Buffy shrugged. "What can I say, I'm popular."  
  
"Why would the N'Gari be after you?" Kitty asked.  
  
"I'm the Slayer." Buffy replied. "It's part of that explanation you wanted." She paused a heartbeat, "You think they were after you?"  
  
"Let's just say I have a history with them." Kitty forced a grin.  
  
"I think they were after both of you." Willow frowned as she continued. "From what I remember reading the N'Gari don't normally work in pairs."  
  
"That fits with what I remember." Kitty nodded. "I think I want the rest of that explanation." She faced off with Buffy mimicking her posture, "What exactly is a 'Slayer'?"  
  
"Not here." Buffy replied curtly, "This may take awhile. Besides, I need to let Giles know what happened." Buffy motioned for Kitty to follow her and the three girls headed for Giles' apartment. 


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer still applies. The characters are not mine and I make no profit. All characters still belong to their respective owners. Please do not sue.  
  
Notes: Located at the end this time.  
  
Giles removed the glasses from his face and rubbed at tired eyes. It had been neatly three hours since the Slayer had appeared with the strange brunette in tow. He was no closer to understanding the girl now than he was then. For her part, Kitty had grown increasingly more belligerent as the night progressed.  
  
"You're trying to tell me that you believe in demons and vampires, but not in mutants?" Kitty raised a quizzical eyebrow.  
  
"I have a vast library of information and resources that chronicle the existence of vampires and demons. I have encountered a vast number of them." Giles replaced his glasses and regarded Kitty with a skeptical expression. "The only information I have on the existence of 'mutants', as you put it, is your word. And as that is what you claim to be when you have given me every indication of being nothing more than a ghost-"  
  
"You're saying I'm dead?" Kitty stood suddenly, fists clenched at her sides.  
  
"Why don't I ever get normal roommates?" Buffy asked no one in particular from where she sat on the couch. "I mean, honestly, as if being the Slayer isn't bad enough, now I have to deal with dead people."  
  
"I am not dead." Kitty grated out.  
  
"She's not dead." Willow confirmed.  
  
"Beg pardon?" Giles turned to face the redhead.  
  
"Come check this out." Willow motioned for both Buffy and Giles to join her at the computer. "I went to the web-sites that Kitty suggested. Apparently mutants have been all over the news on the East Coast."  
  
"Why haven't we heard anything about them in Sunnydale." Buffy asked.  
  
Willow shrugged. "Dunno, could just be standard Sunnydale selective awareness."  
  
Giles squinted at the screen as Willow continued to scroll through the web-site. "Hold on a moment." He looked back up at Kitty, then back at the screen. "You've met Captain Britain?"  
  
Kitty regarded him with an expression that was a mixture of shock and indignation. "You know about Captain Britain, and you still try to tell me I'm dead?"  
  
"Captain Britain's powers are well documented in the watcher library in London." Giles said with a dismissive wave of his hand, "I assure you they are mystical in nature."  
  
"No kidding." Kitty frowned. "So how much attention do you pay to the European super-hero scene?"  
  
"None. Why do you ask?" Giles questioned her.  
  
"But you followed Bri - Captain Britain?" Kitty pressed.  
  
"Yes, when I lived in England. I have in fact been in the States for nearly the last decade." Giles sighed, "And as for paying attention to the 'super-hero' actions of one Brian Braddock, I happened to be a good friend of one of the Watchers assigned to researching the source of his powers."  
  
Kitty nodded, eyes narrowing "Where is your phone?"  
  
"Here." Willow moved to hand her the cordless.  
  
"What do you think your doing?" Giles asked apprehensively.  
  
"Nothing," Kitty quipped, "dead people don't use phones." She took the phone from Willow and began to dial. She placed the phone to her ear as it began to ring on the other end. "Brian."  
  
xXx  
  
Having resolved the state of Kitty's being the girls were headed back to the dormitories. "For what it's worth," Willow said, "I'm glad your not dead."  
  
"Thanks." Kitty shook her head, smothering a grin. "You know, of all the reactions I've ever gotten to the fact that was probably the most original."  
  
"We aim to be unique." Buffy quipped back. "Look, let me lay down some ground rules."  
  
"Ground rules?" Kitty intoned raising a skeptical eyebrow.  
  
"Yes, ground rules." Buffy crossed her arms and gave Kitty her best 'I am the Slayer, do as I say' face. "It's not that I don't think that your capable, but I want you to stay out of the slay-ege scene."  
  
"Look," Kitty gave her roommate a dark glare, put her hands on her hips and continued, "It's not like I want to be involved in this, but the N'Gari are after me. That puts me in the slay-ege whether you want me there or not."  
  
"No." Buffy's voice was flat, harboring an unreasonable tone that Kitty had heard dozens of times from various team-leaders during her time with the X-troupes. "Dealing with demons is my job. I will handle it, I don't need to have to worry about you while I do it."  
  
"I though you said I was capable." Kitty retorted. "Look, I promise that I will not go looking for trouble, but I won't promise to stay out of trouble if it finds me. Believe me, I don't want your job. I came to Sunnydale to get out of the saving the world business."  
  
"Wrong town." Willow shook her head as she spoke. "We average one apocalypse a year."  
  
"Great." Kitty was definitely at the end of her rope. "Look, it's late or early, depending on how you want to look at it, do we have an agreement."  
  
"Fine." Buffy said in a tone that clearly indicated it was not fine. She did however let the subject drop and the girls continued on their way to the dormitories.  
  
xXx  
  
Kitty was back at her computer the next day, this time with Willow. "I thought you told Buffy you wouldn't go looking for trouble." The redhead stated in a mildly reproachful tone.  
  
"I'm not looking for trouble specifically." Kitty said. "I'm looking for probable N'Gari nest locations."  
  
"Exactly what I meant. Trouble." Willow did her best to imitate Buffy's 'intimidating face' but Kitty continued to study her monitor relentlessly.  
  
"Willow," Kitty said in with calm reason, "How can I avoid the N'Gari if I don't know where they're coming from."  
  
"Just because that almost makes sense does not mean that you are off the hook." Willow frowned. "You lied."  
  
Kitty had finished her search, and was sending information to the printer. It wirred to life and began to spit out pages of information. "I did not." Kitty frowned back, sorting through her printouts. "I said I wouldn't go looking for trouble." She handed one set to Willow. "I never said I'd stay out of it if it found me. And trust me Willow, the N'Gari have found me. This is a copy of the layouts of the buildings that would make good N'Gari hideouts."  
  
"There aren't too many." Willow mused as she sorted through the printouts herself.  
  
"No, I think we can check them out tonight." Kitty said grabbing her bag. "I have to get to class now."  
  
"Buffy won't like it." Willow warned.  
  
"Buffy doesn't have a choice." Kitty called on her way out.  
  
Notes: I don't particularly like the way that this chapter has come out. It really feels off, but I can't think of a good way to fix it. It does what I need it to do, but I plan on revising it later. On the brighter side of life, I will graduate in April! 


End file.
